Health and Wellness

Superintendent's Corner

There
are many exciting things going on in USD #386 Madison-Virgil.The Outdoor Learning Center initiative is
underway.This initiative would
incorporate Projected Based Learning in the area of Agriculture into the
classroom at Madison Elementary.The OLC
would benefit PreK-12 students as well as providing students valuable
experiences in the area of leadership.See the article in the Madison News or on the school website for
additional details.

If you have not already
done so recently, I would encourage you to visit the school website
(www.usd386.net).Our school website
team of Martie Helm and Quentin Haas has done an excellent job of updating the
site with the latest news, activities, and announcements.While you are there, check out the
information regarding Legislative Updates, OLC, and extracurricular activities
as well as updates regarding events, lessons, and activities within the
classroom.

As you may have read
recently, the State of Kansas is in troubled waters in the area of
finance.If several transfers and budget
adjustments are not made in the next 7-10 days, the state will not be able to
pay its bills past the middle of February.This is particularly troubling for schools who receive the large
majority of their funds from the state.

The biggest challenge
of the current legislative session is dealing with what was thought to be a
$279 million shortfall for the current year and $649 million next year.This past week, January revenues came in
$47.2 million under estimates which make the challenge even greater with a
shortfall of $326 million for the current year and rapidly approaching the $700
million mark for FY16 and there are still three months remaining before the
consensus revenue estimate group meets again in April!

I like lower taxes as
much as the next person, but the reality is that it takes a certain level of
revenue to fund schools, roads, bridges, local government, etc.Certainly a balance of revenue and spending
is needed to operate in the most efficient manner.The recent tax cuts enacted by the Kansas
Legislature have the revenue decrease rapidly approaching the 1 billion dollar
mark.Reducing spending in the amounts
needed to offset the drop in revenue in the current financial climate cannot be
done without doing substantial damage to the programs funded by the state.Kansas schools began the year with a Base
State Aid per Pupil amount last used in the 20th century.Solving the revenue shortfall by cuts alone
will destroy public education as we know it today.I am not trying to be over dramatic or shock
you, but simply share the reality of the situation with you.Our children have a constitutional right to a
quality education.By and large, Kansas
educators do an outstanding job of providing a quality education for
students.Kansas ranks 10th
in the nation on mastery of basic skills before high school as reported by
NAEP.Kansas ranks 5th in the
percent of students tested meeting all four benchmarks out of all states where
the majority of students take the ACT.Kansas ranks 8th in the nation in educational achievement
measured across outcome measures.No
state ranking higher in educational achievement spends less per pupil than
Kansas.In other words, the data makes a
strong argument that taxpayers are getting a lot in return for their
investment.I would encourage you to
engage in conversation not only with your legislators, but with your neighbor
about what you are willing to do to protect a quality of education for all
students.As always, please let me know
if you have any questions or concerns.Have a great week!It is a Great
Day to be a Bulldog!